Roger Federer has moved into the third round at the Australian Open with a 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(3), win over America’s Noah Rubin.
The encounter at the Rod Laver Arena was a clash of two completely different worlds. 35-year-old Federer is seeking to win his 89th title on the ATP tour in Melbourne, 18th in a grand slam. His first triumph at the 2001 Milan Open occurred when his opponent was just four-years-old. Meanwhile, former Wimbledon junior champion Rubin, who has one Challenger trophy to his name, was seeking to win only his third main draw match in a grand slam event.
During the early stages of the match, it was hard to spot the disparity between the two players. Federer’s renowned style of play failed to intimidate his opponent, who stayed strong with the help of some deep forehand groundstrokes. Four times Federer had the chance to break in the sixth game, but was denied by the resilient youngster and his impressive shot-making abilities. The first breakthrough occurred at the business end of the set with Rubin serving to stay in at 5-6. Showing signs of inexperience, an overcooked forehand error from the American elevated the 17th seed to two set points. Federer capitalized on his first with a forehand shot out wide, which was unsuccessfully returned by his opponent.
Easing his way through the proceedings, a clinical backhand down the line from the Swiss player extended Federer’s dominance to a set and a break. The score might have been in his favour, but there was still moments in the match that gave the 35-year-old and his camp food for thought. A somewhat tentative sixth game in the second set saw the former champion experience a temporary lapse in his momentum before he battled to hold during a four-deuce service game. Still, it did little to stop the inevitability of Federer’s win. Illustrating his lightning-speed reactions, a quick-thinking return into the corner of the court moved the crowd favourite to one set away from victory.
After an hour and 24 minutes, Federer’s match supremacy temporarily subsided. The glimmers of Rubin’s talent finally scored him success as the 20-year-old capitalized on a below-par Federer service game before racing to a 3-0 lead in the third. Unexpectedly the consistent form of the 35-year-old dramatically dropped as his lack of match play within recent months due to injury started to show its consequences.
The threat facing the 17th seed was eventually thwarted. Trailing 3-5 and saving a duo of set points, a winning forehand smash followed by a Rubin error rewarded Federer the break back. Taking proceedings into a tiebreaker, a backhand smash at the net elevated Federer to two points away from victory before Rubin’s third double fault of the match rewarded him his first match point. His shaky finish to the match was achieved with a cross-court forehand winner that proved too troublesome for his rival.
After sealing the second round triumph with the help of 17 aces and 48 winners, Federer praised his opponent’s game.
“He’s plays well, great fighter, great legs, aggressive on the ball. I think he had the upper hand on the baseline.” Federer said of Rubin.
“I think my serving kept me in the match and I am happy I got through somehow.”
Producing 41 unforced errors, the 17-time grand slam champion admitted that it was a far from his best performance. Acknowledging that the recent lack of match play was a factor, Federer described his latest encounter as ‘difficult.”
“I wasn’t feeling as good as in the beginning, but it’s alright.” He said. “I definitely got a little lucky winning that third set.”
“There were a lot of difficult moments out there, but that is what I need to get used to again to keep progressing in this tournament.”
In the third round, Federer is set to face his biggest test yet against tenth seed Tomas Berdych, who dismissed Ryan Harrison in straight sets. The 35-year-old has a winning head-to-head record of 16-6 against the Czech.
